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Crochet? Crochet!

I've been in a little bit of a knitting funk for a while now. Most of my knitting energy has been going into submissions, and the last sweater I knit for my own self-published line didn't turn out the way I wanted it to, so I'll be ripping it out when I can bear to look at it again. Meanwhile, I've got two sweater patterns that I finished samples for ages ago and am working on getting the patterns written up. (Always a much more laborious process than I think it should be.) Also, I'm working on a new website and wil be moving my blog archives over there when it's ready to go.

In an effort to bring some fun back into my crafting life, I've been crocheting. I haven't crocheted in years, although I actually learned as a child, a number of years before learning to knit. A couple weeks ago, at A Loom with a View where I teach every Tuesday night, Betsy (the owner) was checking in a book order which included Crochet In Color by Kathy Merrick, and the Splashy Flowers Scarf (Rav link) immediately caught my eye. On a whim, I bought a bunch of Silk Garden and was off to the races!

It was a fun, easy and relatively quick project - I finished it in just over a week. Betsy tells me that people have been asking her for a beginner crochet class, so I decided to teach an Intro to Crochet workshop as well as a one in this project - both are scheduled for March.

More photos & details for the scarf are over on Ravelry on my project page.

Now my crochet appetite is whetted, and I headed to Amazon.com to order more crochet books (I ordered Crochet So Fine, which I've been eyeing since it came out last year, and well as The Crochet Answer Book, to bone up on my techniques in case anyone asks me any questions beyond beginner level in my crochet classes.) The books were supposedly delivered, but I can't find them. I'm slightly concerned that they may be outside covered in snow and I'll find them in April.

Since I can't wait that long, on Saturday I spontaneously went at AC Moore (I "needed" some paper craft suppies as well), and ended up buying a book of crocheted doily patterns, crochet cotton thread and a tiny (1.5 mm) hook. Years ago I knitted a doily, when I was first getting into lace knitting and tiny needles. (I think I used a size 0 or 1.) I have no use for doilies... I mean, who does these days? I don't know where I'd even put them in my house, since every surface is covered with clutter (that's a whole nother blog post.) But there's just something about the tiny work, the exibition of skill, that I really enjoy. Here's the work in progress:

It's so fun to have a challenging project where I can learn something new! Although there was one round that had me pulling my hair out - the one that creates the criss-crossed treble crochets on top of the single crochet background, near the center. Also, looking at the photo it appears that something is not quite lining up properly with the pineapple motifs that are starting in the row I'm working on. I don't know if I'll go back, though. This project is supposed to be just for fun, so I'm trying to overcome my perfectionist tendencies.

Of course, I always have an impulse to professionalize everything, so now I'm thinking after I get a few more crochet projects under my belt I may start creating my own crochet designs. Or maybe I can just keep this one a hobby. What a thought!